Changes
by Pixie07
Summary: Sasuke comes back to the village after traveling to find out how things changed in his absence, especially technology and communication. My entry to fanofthisfic 'Show me the Love Challenge.'


_**This is my entry to fanofthisfic challenge 'Show me the love.'**_

* * *

 **Changes**

Since embarking several years ago on a journey across the world to seek revenge and atone his sins, a lot has changed. The village, for starters, was not the same. After Pain's attack, the village was nearly unrecognizable. Many thought that rebuilding the village would be impossible, but after very difficult and challenging work, the village was rebuilt, and with many improvements as well. To Sasuke, all the stores that he had remembered from his childhood were in the right place but now looked completely different since they were rebuilt. Nostalgia hit him hard as he remembered how he and his teammates used to walk through the dirt street, now paved, as they came up with plans of how to unmask their teacher. He felt out of place, like he didn't belong anymore.

"That's the shop" Sakura called out, "Right there." she pointed to their right and rushed inside the store. Sasuke followed her inside, still wary about the idea.

He was not ready to come back; if he could get his way, he would be still traveling. However, Kakashi summoned him. ' _You need a vacation from your vacation.'_ he wrote in the message, ' _Come back home for a least a week, then you can go back to be your lonely self all you want.'_ Sasuke could not deny the hokage's request; Kakashi risked his own neck for Sasuke's sake, going as far as to tell the council that if Sasuke were to go rogue again, Kakashi offered the council to kill him as well. He didn't deserve it.

He arrived a few hours ago, Naruto and Sakura were at the Hokage's office, Hinata and the other pale guy was there too. It looked that Kakashi had kept his return a surprise, and commotion took place, followed by a fight. Sakura yelled at their former sensei for not letting them know that Sasuke was coming, ' _I'd at least change, be more presentable.'_ She has said pointing at her stained medical scrub with a red face. 'O _h you'd need more than a change of clothes, a shower is in need too. You stink.'_ that was his replacement talking. Not that he would do more talking in the future since Sakura knocked him out.

"Welcome." greeted the shop owner, "Can I help you find something?" the young man asked with a smile.

"Thank you, but we will be looking around and would let you know when we're ready," Sakura replied with a smile if her own.

Sakura has also changed, she was no longer the annoying and weak little girl that followed him around asking for dates. She was now one other stronger ninjas within the five great nations, a former student of the actual Hokage, and former apprentice of the previous one. And he was not stupid to not notice the physical changes too. But not everything changed about his former teammate, she was still the kind person she always has been. She was still the same girl that was willing to leave everything behind for him, not one, but multiple times, and he knew she would still do it. The love he received from her never changed, always strong and steady. He was glad that didn't change.

Kakashi appointed Sakura to show Sasuke around the village and help him to familiarize with the new Konoha. He also required for Sasuke to have a better form of communication. For that same reason, they were inside a cell phone store.

Technology had improved a lot these last years, new ideas and devices came along every month. Communication had the biggest developing, to the point that nowadays you could carry a wireless phone in your pocket, back on then only the privileged one would have a phone at home. And now, apparently you could send messages through satellite and something called the internet and the other person could receive it within seconds.

Sasuke didn't find amusement in the device that he was holding in his hand. A gray and rectangular thing that weighed about a half pound with a small screen on the top, under that a keyboard. He let a sigh out, he didn't need that, he was fine sending his hawk. Besides, the places he traveled didn't have this kind of technology, less a cell phone tower.

"You should have gotten a cover too." Sakura said as she placed a tray with tea on the table. They have run into Sakura's parent while in the marketplace and invited him for dinner. He tried to deny but once he looked at Sakura's eyes filled with hopes that he would dine with them he was he found himself not able to do so and accepted the invitation. He hoped he didn't blush when Sakura flushed him one of her big and bright smiles.

"If it breaks, better."

"Don't be like that." Sakura scolded him, he didn't mean to say it at loud, and he didn't expect the pink haired woman to talk to him that way. "You should be grateful that Kakashi-sensei gave you the money to buy it." She finished with a frown on her face. He was taken aback for a moment, then he mused over that expression that she never give him before.

"I did say thank you, and I'm sure that it wasn't his own money. That guy is too cheap to buy his own meal, less to give out that amount of ryos away." He then placed the phone on the table and took the mug with tea and before taking a sip of the steaming beverage, he added, "Besides, I don't need this thing."

The pink haired woman let out a long sigh of resignation. "It not as hard to use it as seems to be. I mean, Naruto could figure it out." A soft chuckle left her lips.

"Hn." was his only reply, not wanting to admit or deny that he might not be able to understand the phone.

"Here, I will show you." She grabbed the device and scooted closer to him. How was always able to read through him.

Sakura showed him the basic setting features, how to make calls, how to answer to an income one. How to text and add contacts. Sasuke, of course, learned everything in a fast pace. Uchiha after all 9he might or not have used the Sharingan when Sakura wasn't looking at his direction). After an hour or so, Mebuki, Sakura's mom, called them to eat.

A couple of hours later the duo was outside, just a few feet away from Sakura's house. "I'm so sorry about my father." A pink tone was raising on Sakura's face when she apologized to Sasuke. During the whole meal, her father made bad jokes and pounds that only him found them funny.

"You don't need to apologize." ' _Enjoy every moment you have with them.'_ He wanted advice. "Please thank them for having me over. And thank _you_.

"Oh, you don't have to thank me. I haven't done anything." But of course, the raven-haired man disagreed with her. She had done a so much for him, even after he made her go through. He didn't deserve that smile. At least not yet, perhaps soon.

"It's getting late. I'm gonna get going, I'll see you around." He turned around without waiting for her to say her goodbyes, but stopped and turned back when the med ninja called out to him.

"I'll walk with you back to Kakashi-sensei's place." she offered in hopes to be with Sasuke just a few more moments.

The Uchiha took no more than three steps to shorten the distance between the two of them, just a few inches away, he started to enjoy how Sakura's cheeks matched her hair.

He smiled, a gesture that he would not gift to just anyone. He raised his sole hand and poked her on the forehead. "Maybe some other time. Bye." and then, the left.

Yes, he definitely liked to make Sakura blush.

One night, not long ago, Sakura had a dream where Sasuke-kun visited her at work with a bouquet of roses. Even though he was there, at the hospital in her office, she couldn't quite say that her dream came true, but this was close enough and she would take advantage of it. Or at least try to. She was doing some paperwork when the dark-haired man walked through her door.

"I blame you for this." Sasuke accused Sakura while holding the damn electronic for her to see.

She twirled her chair towards his direction to only face his phone, she took the phone and saw that Sasuke had over twenty text messages from Naruto, "How is this my fault?"

"You were the one that messaged him from my phone. Now he won't stop." he clarified to her no amused at all.

"You should reply to him other things than 'stop bothering me'. We finally have a way to contact you other than leaving messages in contact points and never know when you would get them or when we will back from you."

"How I am supposed to do that if he writes nonsenses, random letter and symbols? I do not see why this so funny to you."

"I'm sorry Sasuke-kun," she apologized between giggles, "It just that this is how to most people write text messages. Here let me _translate._ " she then invited him to sit down next to her at the desk. With a huff, he did as was told and took the seat that she pulled for him.

"There's a limit for how many characters you can use for a text, so we just abbreviate words. It's faster as well. Like for instance ' _how r u_ ' means how are you? ' _brb'_ mean be right back." Sakura explained him the basic abbreviation for a few more moments until the emoji subject came up. "So in here," she showed him the message that said ' _T^T'_ "Naruto is expressing that he is sad or crying because you don't text him back. The Ts represent teary eyes and the arrow pointing up a pout."

"That's idiotic." Sasuke said as she kept showing him examples. Finding the whole idea of cell phones, text messages and all that involved this technological era a waste of time.

"They're no." she looked at him pouted "They are cute. I used them all the time." Sasuke had to look away, he could feel his ears warming up.

"I better get going, sorry for interrupting your work." Sasuke made his way to the door. "Thank you."

The young medic shook her head, "It was nothing, I'm glad I could help. But maybe, next time you could bring me a rose."

"A rose?" he questioned her.

' _Did I just say that at loud?'_ "Haha," she laughed awkwardly waved her hands, "I-I was just joking. You don't need to get me anything. Hehe. Oh look at the time, I need to finish this report. See you at dinner time at Naruto and Hinata's."

Sasuke only blinked when Sakura shove him out of her office, not quite understanding what happened. No paying too much attention, he walked out of the hospital with no specific place to go next. He just walked down the road until he was in front of the Yamanaka flower shop.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino called him out, surprised that her former classmate was in front of her store. And then a mischievous grin appeared on her face. "Are you looking to buy some flowers? Maybe for special (pink-haired) one?"

He just stared at her like she was insane, said nothing and walked away.

"Typical Sasuke." Ino amused to herself and went inside the store.

A few days passed and Sasuke was allowed to roam the world once more, and original team seven was at the village's gate to say goodbye to Sasuke. Naruto was the first to do so and asked him to come back soon and he better reply to his texts. Kakashi was next, their goodbye was short and simple, he warned Sasuke that he needed to come back soon, that he had time to atone his sins. The only female was last, this time Sakura didn't ask to accompanying him to travel like last time they parted way. She had big responsibilities at the hospital, and that was why she didn't offer this time. However, the pout he learned to like so much this last week was there, she was already missing him. He could read it on her bright green eyes.

"Please be safe, and come back soon." She wished him, a blush adorning her cheeks.

"Ah," he came closer to her. "I'll see you soon." And like last time he poked her forehead. Content how flushed she was, he turned around resumed his travels.

Sakura was still on cloud nine, Sasuke left no more than three hours ago and she still could feel her longtime crush fingers on her forehead. She sighed for nth time, and collected herself to focus on the medical report she was reading. No more than ten minutes later, her phone beeped notifying her that she got a text. When she saw who it was from, her heart skipped:

' _What does this mean: LOL?'_

Sasuke texted her. With trembling hands, she started typing her reply.

' _It means laughing out loud. Is Naruto texting you nonstop again?'_

' _Yes, it's annoying.'_ She let out a soft laugh as she read his reply.

' _Don't worry, his limit will run out eventually ;)'_

' _-'-,-{ '_

' _That's a rose,'_ she explained.

' _I know,'_ he replied back ' _Thank you.'_

Sakura almost fainted, Sasuke remembered her request. She never thought she could fall for him even more.

Meanwhile, Sasuke put his cellphone back inside his bag, a smirked as he imagined Sakura's red face. Maybe having a cell phone wasn't that bad.

 _ **End**_


End file.
